Biography - Steve Schneider, Chief Executive Officer of ZAP

Steve Schneider has been Chief Executive Officer and a director of ZAP since October 26, 2002. Schneider has a 30-year career in the automotive industry and a long-time interest in fun, fuel-efficient cars. A recognized authority in the field of advanced transportation technology, Schneider has been a subject of many television, radio, newspaper, magazine and podcast interviews, including features with CNBC’s “Closing Bell” and host Maria ZAP CEO Steve SchneiderBartaromo, Popular Science’s “Who Killed the Gas Guzzler,” and Business 2.0’s “31 Best Business Ideas,” as well as NBC, ABC, CBS, the Discovery Channel, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Newsweek, Bloomberg News, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle and more. Schneider has been called a stock market revolutionary by NYSE Arca Exchange and was recently named by the UK’s Intersection Magazine as one of the top authorities in electric transportation. Over his career, Schneider has been involved in the marketing and distribution of several automotive brands, including Renault, Honda, DeLorean, Lincoln Mercury, and Smart. Schneider worked for several years for Bill Manly Honda of Santa Rosa, the first dealership in the US to carry Honda automobiles and believes that ZAP’s business plan of advanced technology vehicles has a similar opportunity today that Honda enjoyed in the 1970s and 80s. Schneider is active in the business community and environmental advocacy and has personal relationships with top researchers in the field like Professor CC Chan, “Grandfather of Asian Electric Vehicles” and Dr. Stephen H. Schneider of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which won the Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore in 2007. He was a special guest at the Global Green Awards Ceremony in 2007. As part of his environmental advocacy, Schneider has developed personal relationships with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear. Schneider is an active member with various industry groups, including the Electric Drive Transportation Association in Washington, DC. , and is a member of the Bay Area Alliance of CEOs. He lectures frequently on industry topics at universities and other organizations, including the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies. Among his many accomplishments, Schneider helped generate more than $2.2 billion in purchase orders for the Smart Car in 2005 and negotiated a $425 million credit facility to secure the transaction. He negotiated key technology contracts in electric transportation, including an engineering collaboration with Lotus Engineering for the ZAP Alias and ZAP-X vehicle concepts. He also secured a 30 percent ownership stake in the Company’s wheel motor partner for the Zapino scooter. Schneider has helped negotiate marketing and distribution contracts with partners in Europe, Asia, The Middle East and South America. Recently, Schneider was the brain-child for the reemergence and foundation of Detroit Electric, the most popular electric car brand of the 20th Century. He helped lead ZAP to record electric car sales in 2008 and was recognized by the North Bay Business Journal as one of the top public companies in the region.

Background

With such a flair for adventure, innovation and independence, it's no surprise that Steve Schneider is the CEO for what may be the most daring automotive venture in history. But his road to becoming the top electric car executive, setting up auto dealerships for ZAP is unique to say the least.

Schneider knows the auto dealer business from the ground-up, starting as a part-time detailer in 1978, all the way up to opening his own dealership by 1989. As a young man Schneider was obsessed with cars, starting with his first car, a Renault Caravelle, which he bought for $100 and restored as a teenager. As his first car, Schneider became obsessed with Renaults, so much so, he was compelled to apply at his local Renault dealership in Santa Rosa where he got his first job as a part-time detailer. Schneider's charm quickly endeared him with the dealership staff and when he reached legal age, they tried him on the sales floor and the rest is history for the natural-born salesman.

ZAP CEO Steve Schneider in ChinaWhy would Schneider pass up other career paths or the opportunity for a higher education just so he could sell Renaults? At the time the Renault Caravelle, known here as LeCar, had a cult following, although many experts called it one of the worst cars in American history. It was small, cheap, had questionable performance and quality, and was considered by many as a tough sell. Despite this, Schneider believed that smaller, more efficient cars had a place in society and he quickly proved his natural ability for sales, becoming one of Renault's top sales performers in the nation, selling every Renault model available in the US. (Footnote: This was the first, but by no means the last, small car with which he would become obsessed.) But Schneider says the attraction to small cars may have been derived from a unique perspective on life engrained into him by his parents.

Schneider was born in New York with strong family ties to the area. His mother and father, worried about raising two boys in an urban environment, so far removed from nature, moved with Schneider and his younger brother to a place about as far as you can get from city life. They acquired some property on the undeveloped island of Roatan off the coast of Honduras and went there to raise the two boys. Schneider said he was literally cut off from civilization, with no running water, no electricity, no television, no radio, no roads and no cars. One of his foremost memories of that time was that their family introduced the first motor vehicle to Roatan. The experience, to say the least, left an indelible mark on him, allowing him a unique appreciation of technology and the environment.

Schneider's passion for unusual vehicles ultimately drew him on to other automotive adventures. Next stop was a sales position with the local DeLorean dealership, which was a hot item in 1980. He spent a couple years there, and his interests in all sorts of unusual and exotic cars bloomed through owning and selling DeLoreans. But his next big break came when he went to work for Manly Honda, which in 1968 was the first dealership in America to sell Honda Automobiles. At the time, Schneider says Honda was the place to be and the key to selling was not how much, but how long you will have to wait to get your car. Schneider fit right in selling Hondas and became salesman of the year for the dealership two years in a row. It was there that he got his first break in auto dealership management, first heading up sales management, then financing, then finally business manager of the entire dealership, which helped him learn about parts, service, warranty and all other aspects of the auto dealer business.

Schneider tells a story of how there was an original Honda H1300 Sedan, the first Honda sold in the US, sitting in a corner of the showroom. One day he asked the dealership founder Bill Manly about it and how he came up with the brilliant idea to take on the nation's first Honda Dealership. Manly responded that he wasn't a car dealer at the time, but a motorcycle dealership. He said he had been looking for something new for his Honda Motorcycle dealership and it turned out that he was the only dealer in the country who said yes to taking on the cars. Schneider said this taught him an important lesson. Sometimes the biggest opportunities are hidden right under your nose, but you can only realize them with hard work, being at the right place at the right time, and having the willingness to try something new.

After a lot of success in the auto dealership business, in 1989 Schneider used his ability to excel in financing to take his career to the next level. That was the year that he opened his own independent auto dealership, the Redwood Auto Plaza. Also, he established an auto distribution business called Empire Auto Brokers and The Repot Outlet that turned into a very lucrative niche business by partnering with local banks and credit unions.

It was during the mid-'90s, after a great deal of success in the auto dealer market, that Schneider first started leaning towards his current line of work. Schneider got his first taste of automotive marketing and distribution when he met Martin Josephi, the former President for Volkswagen of Mexico. He used the capital made during his dealership career to start remanufacturing and distributing classic bugs from Mexico in the United States under the business name BugWorld. Again, here was a small, strange-looking car, first built in 1938, which still enjoyed a huge following in the United States. He said BugWorld enjoyed a large level of success throughout the United States – except for California. To this day, Schneider still doesn't understand what happened, but the California Air Resources Board, which has broad powers in regulating cars, essentially threw the book at him. The small, no-nonsense bug was perhaps one of the lowest-emitting vehicles on the road, yet having the air regulators come down on him so hard told Schneider that powerful forces had aligned to put him out of business. "At that point," he states with emphasis, "I decided to change sides."

ZAP CEO Steve Schneider - RevolutionaryThis was when he first started thinking seriously about electric cars, figuring if he took emissions out of the equation, there would be one less regulation, one less reason to fight city hall. He started a new business called Auto Distributors, Inc. and Voltage Vehicles, going around to every electric vehicle company that was in business at the time and negotiating exclusive distribution for the auto dealer market. The problem then was very few companies had a reliable supply of products. This was about the time that he teamed up with ZAP, a fledgling alternative transportation company that had pioneered the market for electric bicycles and scooters. Little did he realize when he signed up to distribute ZAP vehicles to auto dealerships that he would one day become CEO for the public company.

Schneider always had an interest in the equities market. ZAP had fallen on hard times in 1999 and 2000 with an unexpected explosion in the electric bike and scooter market that saw exact replicas of ZAP's patented products coming from offshore for a fraction of the price. ZAP's management scurried to restructure its finances and reorganize its business and found the perfect solution in Steve Schneider. Through his various customers and business connections, Steve had experience with the reorganization of public companies. With Schneider's help, ZAP merged with his two automotive businesses, came up with a whole new business focus and recruited a dynamic, new CEO to boot.

As a young CEO in the exciting, emerging electric vehicle market, he made a dramatic impact on ZAP, continuing the tradition of fun, fuel-efficient vehicles, only now with more than just two wheels. Scooters, bicycles and mopeds are nice, but Schneider added his passion for automobiles to ZAP and since then the focus has been primarily on building the electric car market. As a pioneer in this field, ZAP and CEO Schneider have tried a variety of approaches, not all of them successful, but ZAP as a company has made dramatic progress. His experience with finance also helped him negotiate a $425 million credit facility to help with ZAP's automotive distribution. At one point, Schneider set out to sell a European micro-car that was not available in the United States, ultimately pre-selling more than $2 billion worth. Without support of the manufacturer, the venture never made it off the ground, but the experience has proven to Schneider that small cars are still big.

This chapter of Schneider's story is still to be written. ZAP filed a lawsuit with DaimlerChrysler, smart GMBH, its president Ulrich Walker and other parties alleging severe misconduct. The lawsuit cites eight different counts, including intentional interference with prospective economic relations, negligent interference, trade libel, defamation, breach of contract to negotiate in good faith, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, common law unfair competition, and statutory unfair competition. ZAP is seeking damages in excess of $500 million.

In 2006, ZAP achieved an important milestone that no other car company has ever achieved. ZAP is the first US automotive company that has imported a mass-produced car from Chinese automaker Shandong Jindalu designed for the US market. And the best part is – it's electric. The Xebra sedan and truck are helping ZAP and Schneider build what many are calling the auto dealer network for the future.

Experience with the Xebra showed Schneider and ZAP that the electric car industry is moving at a faster pace than anyone realizes. With that in mind, over the past few years Schneider and ZAP set out to build on its foundation and to bring more automobiles into the company for its long-term growth and to help its marketing and distribution strategy for automotive dealerships. With rising gas prices, more competition surfacing, and the major automakers starting to make noise about getting into alternative fuels, Schneider hit the ground running in late 2006 on a campaign to take ZAP to a new level.

Schneider linked up with Lotus Engineering to carry out a feasibility study on the future of electric automobiles and the two models that resulted from the study have been nothing short of fantastic, truly representing a quantum leap forward in electric vehicles. With advanced batteries, wheel motors, aluminum chassis design and many more features and comforts, the ZAP-X crossover SUV and the ZAP Alias sport electric vehicle promised the performance and style to take electric cars to a new level. Recently, ZAP announced plans to move forward with the ZAP Alias because it has the performance and the affordability that Schneider and ZAP believe will be important for the near-term electric vehicle market.

In his time working with Lotus Engineering, Schneider developed a strong working relationship with Albert Lam, then the CEO of Lotus Engineering and Director of Lotus Group, a subsidiary of Proton, one of Asia's largest automobile manufacturers. With more than 20 years in the upper management in high technology and the auto industry, Lam had connections all over the world. It was because of Albert Lam that Steve Schneider eventually traveled to China and formed a relationship with China Youngman Automotive Group, one of China's largest bus manufacturers. Together they formed a joint venture which Schneider named Detroit Electric and have plans to start introducing Chinese-built electric and hybrid cars, buses and trucks worldwide by 2009. Acquiring the 100-year-old brand name Detroit Electric is one achievement in which Schneider takes a lot of pride.

ZAP CEO Steve Schneider with California Governor Arnold SchwarzeneggerSchneider also prides himself on his ability to forge strong relationships. Today he enjoys the support of many well-known individuals and business throughout the global auto and business community. It doesn't hurt to have the support of a few multi-billion dollar international business conglomerates on your side and while Schneider can't publicly acknowledge all of them, with China Youngman and the Detroit Electric joint venture, ZAP has the manufacturing support of a multi-billion dollar company. Schneider has developed a personal relationship with the family of Youngman Chairman Pang Qingnian. Al-Yousuf Group, one of the largest trading groups, vehicle importers and manufacturers in The Middle East, is another key supporter of Schneider and ZAP. He also points to important technology relationships, like PML Flightlink, Advanced Battery Technologies, Unique Mobility, Altair-Nano, Lithium Balance, Shandong Jindalu and Connaught Engineering.

Schneider's efforts on the behalf of the electric car industry and the environment have helped him develop relationships with famous people all over the world, from politicians, to celebrities to scientists. His success in China have earned the support of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger who made time to visit with Schneider and Pang during a visit to China. He has also befriended some of the top scientists for electric vehicles and the environment today. Dr. Stephen H. Schneider, no relation and one of the world's leading scientists on Global Warming, was part of the research team that helped Al Gore win his Nobel Peace Prize. Schneider is also a long-time friend of Dr. CC Chan, Professor at the University of Hong Kong and called "The Grandfather of Asian EVs."

Expect to hear more from ZAP and its fearless CEO Steve Schneider. His personality, leadership, communications skills and his negotiating skills have been an incredible asset to ZAP's cause. This has propelled ZAP into the limelight with Schneider appearing in the media around the world on the likes of CNN, FOX, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Popular Science and hundreds of other television and radio programs as well as articles and interviews in newspapers and magazines. He is an active member with various industry groups, including the Electric Drive Transportation Association in Washington, DC. His sits on the Board of Directors for Apollo Energy Systems, a developer of fuel cells and advanced batteries. He continually lectures with universities and corporations on the auto industry. He is a member of the Bay Area's Alliance of CEO's. Schneider says his best asset is his ability to forge strong business relationships. Recently when asked about the importance of these relationships to ZAP, he replied that they were not only important for ZAP, but also important for the future of the auto industry. With such a unique perspective on the industry, Schneider's words are not to be taken lightly.